George Washington Carver – Hopewell

The school was located on County Road 553. In 1928, the black farmers in the Hopewell Community decided to build a school that was the first black high school. The Rosenwald Foundation covered half the expense for construction. A local lumber dealer, R. H. Molpus, was to get the necessary building material to construct a modern building. Each of the black families planted one acre of cotton to be used to help pay for the building. The white county agent helped supervise the planting, fertilizing, gathering, and ginning so the cotton would all be treated the same. The families organized a club to help carry out plans for this project. The project started with 32 acres of cotton and ended in 1935 with 29 acres. In 1929, a Jeanes teacher came to work there. Initially funded in 1908 by the Negro Rural School Fund (also referred to as the Anna T. Jeanes Fund/Foundation after its founder), the Jeanes Teachers Program was continued by the Southern Education Foundation until 1968. In the early years, the Jeanes Teachers traveled to rural areas in the South with high populations of minorities and taught classes on industrial subjects such as sewing, canning, basketry, and woodworking. Over the years, the focus evolved to helping improve the educational programs through curriculum development and teacher training. The school became an eight-month school in 1936, financed by county revenue. As enrollment grew, the county decided to build a school in the Hopewell Community to house all the black students in Neshoba County. The new structure was completed in 1963 and named for the great black educator and scientist, Dr. George Washington Carver. After desegregation in 1970, students went to Neshoba Central School and Carver School was closed. Nemanco, a clothing factory, occupies the Carver School building today.